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GIULIANI is TARGET of ELECTION PROBE
by KATE BRUMBACK and JILL COLVIN
@APNEWS
ATLANTA (AP) — Prosecutors in Atlanta on Monday told lawyers for Rudy Giuliani that he’s a target of their criminal investigation into possible illegal attempts by then-President Donald Trump and others to interfere in the 2020 general election in Georgia, one of Giuliani’s lawyers said Monday.
Special prosecutor Nathan Wade alerted Giuliani’s local attorney in Atlanta that the former New York City mayor could face criminal charges, another Giuliani attorney, Bob Costello said. News of the disclosure was first reported by The New York Times.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the investigation last year, and a special grand jury was seated in May at her request. County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s overseeing the special grand jury, has instructed Giuliani to appear before the panel to testify on Wednesday.
Willis’s investigation was spurred by a phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During that January 2021 conversation, Trump suggested that Raffensperger could “find” the votes needed to overturn his narrow loss in the state.
It has also become clear that the district attorney is interested in Georgia legislative committee hearings that were held in December 2020 where Giuliani appeared and spread false claims of election fraud in Atlanta’s Fulton County.
Willis last month filed petitions seeking to compel testimony from seven Trump associates and advisers. Because they don’t live in Georgia, she had to use a process that involves asking a judge in the states where they live to order them to appear.
In a petition seeking Giuliani’s testimony, Willis identified him as both a personal attorney for Trump and a lead attorney for his campaign. She wrote that he and others appeared at a state Senate committee meeting and presented a video that Giuliani said showed election workers producing “suitcases” of unlawful ballots from unknown sources, outside the view of election poll watchers.
Within 24 hours of that Dec. 3, 2020, hearing, Raffensperger’s office had debunked the video. But Giuliani continued to make statements to the public and in subsequent legislative hearings claiming widespread voter fraud using the debunked video, Willis wrote.
Evidence shows that Giuliani’s hearing appearance and testimony “was part of a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere,” the petition says.
Also Monday, a federal judge said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham must testify before a special grand jury in Atlanta that is investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies broke any laws while trying to overturn his narrow 2020 general election loss in the state.
Attorneys for Graham, R-S.C., had argued that his position as a U.S. senator provided him immunity from having to appear before the investigative panel and asked the judge to quash his subpoena. But U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May wrote in an order Monday that immunities related to his role as a senator do not protect him from having to testify. Graham’s subpoena instructs him to appear before the special grand jury on Aug. 23, but his office said Monday he plans to appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Prosecutors have indicated they want to ask Graham about phone calls they say he made to Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks following Trump’s election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Graham had argued that a provision of the Constitution provides absolute protection against a senator being questioned about legislative acts. But the judge found there are “considerable areas of potential grand jury inquiry” that fall outside that provision’s scope. The judge also rejected Graham’s argument that the principle of “sovereign immunity” protects a senator from being summoned by a state prosecutor.
Graham also argued that Willis, a Democrat, had not demonstrated extraordinary circumstances necessary to compel testimony from a high-ranking official. But the judge disagreed, finding that Willis had shown “extraordinary circumstances and a special need” for Graham’s testimony on issues related to an alleged attempt to influence or disrupt the election in Georgia.
May, the judge, last month rejected a similar attempt by U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., to avoid testifying before the special grand jury. Former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani had argued he couldn’t travel to Atlanta to testify because of health issues, but Fulton County Judge McBurney instructed him to appear on Wednesday.
Graham’s office said in a statement Monday that the senator disagrees with the judge’s interpretation of the provision of the Constitution he believes protects him from being questioned by a state official. His lawyers have said that he was making inquiries that were clearly part of his legislative duties, related to certification of the vote and to the proposal of election-related legislation.
But the judge wrote that that ignores “the fact that individuals on the calls have publicly suggested that Senator Graham was not simply engaged in legislative factfinding but was instead suggesting or implying that Georgia election officials change their processes or otherwise potentially alter the state’s results.”
In calls made shortly after the 2020 general election, Graham “questioned Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump,” Willis wrote in a petition.
Graham also “made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the Trump Campaign,” she wrote.
Republican and Democratic state election officials across the country, courts and even Trump’s attorney general found there was no evidence of any voter fraud sufficient to affect the outcome of his 2020 presidential election loss.
Trump-allied lawmakers were planning to challenge the tallies from several battleground states when Congress convened on Jan. 6, 2021, to certify the results under the Electoral Count Act, but after the Capitol attack that day Georgia’s tally was never contested.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has described his call to Raffensperger as “perfect.”
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Current events
In late June, Republicans in Texas published two resolutions emerging from their 2022 party convention.
1. 2020 Election:
We believe that the 2020 election violated Article 1 and 2 of the US Constitution, that various secretaries of state illegally circumvented their state legislatures in conducting their elections in multiple ways, including by allowing ballots to be received after November 3, 2020. We believe that substantial election fraud in key metropolitan areas significantly affected the results in five key states in favor of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. We reject the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States.
No evidence supports this claim. Most of Trump's closest advisors have now testified under oath that Trump deliberately manufactured and propagandized this false claim entirely aware of the absence of evidence and entirely aware of the illegal, unconstitutional, unpatriotic and anti-American nature of manufacturing such a claim. That Texas Republicans choose to promote the Big Lie in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary demonstrates that Texas Republicans remain supplicant to Trump's will and are therefore disqualified from any position of political leadership.
2. Resolution against the Gang of 20 Gun Control bill:
Whereas those under 21 are most likely to be victims of violent crime and thus most likely to need to defend themselves. Whereas “red flag laws” violate one’s right to due process and are a pre-crime punishment of people not adjudicated guilty. Whereas waiting periods on gun purchases harm those who need to acquire the means of self defense in emergencies such as riots. Whereas all gun control is a violation of the Second Amendment and our God given rights. We reject the so called “bipartisan gun agreement”, and we rebuke Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
According to the GOP, Jesus wants us to make sure we are putting machine guns in the hands of those under 21 years of age, especially in the middle of a riot.
Both of these strike me as signaling loyalty to powers entirely unaffiliated with the truth, common sense, or American prosperity.
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Current events
“When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads.”
― Ron Paul
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Artistic expressions
I note that a new notice has been issued today regarding DART elections:
DART Presidential ElectionGreetings DART!The presidential process will begin starting Dec 27th.From December 27th to January 16th, any user may nominate themselves. From that time, users may campaign for themselves following the regulation set.On January 17th, the preliminary voting stage will begin, where the top three candidates move on to the general electionOn January 20th, the final voting stage will begin, where a simple majority vote decides the presidentOn January 21st, the president is inauguratedFor more info on campaign rules, please read here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PIsh9UDic938MMM3YX-H1nn15H7OriOvfOSFigXXsX0/editHope everyone has a safe and happy holidaysGodspeed, SupaDudz
While I voted against the need for a Presidential office on DART, I accepted the preference of the majority as expressed in the MEEP that ended on Sept 29th, "MEEP: Reformed ban policy & DebateArt President" and in early December endorsed RationalMadman's Candidacy for our first DebateArt President.
That election process, as proposed by MisterChris and approved by us DebartArters clearly stated:
"The President shall be elected for a yearly term each December, to be formally instated January 1st of the following year. The first three weeks of December will be dedicated to optional campaigning, and the rest of the month will be dedicated to the election process, all of which will be overseen and managed by moderation."
Clearly, a number of DebateArtists including RM and myself were under the impression that these were the rules in play and have been campaigning since Dec 1 accordingly. Now I see that the campaign dates and inauguration dates have been moved and a primary process inserted. I guess I'm left wondering:
- When did the election process change?
- How did I miss it?
- On what authority?
- Does that authority over-ride MEEP decided policies?
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DebateArt.com
Nobody can deny that the Democrats have come more than halfway on the two major bills before Congress right now. Today is the first and largest test of Republicans willingness to actually do the job they were elected for.
Yesterday, Barack Obama threw his support behind Joe Manchin's scaled back voting rights compromise that must pass Republican filibuster today. Following Stacey Abrams endorsement last week, Obama is giving in on two long held principled objections to National VoterID and voter roll purging.
From this point forward, the only reason that VoterID, which enjoys 80% support nationally (84% minority voter support)is not law is Republican pigheadedness and pantswetting over Trump's stranglehold on the party apparatus. If Republicans block this bill today, Republicans will have unarguably justified the structural changes Democrats are considering to regain America's capacity to make law- first and foremost shifting the filibuster.
Here are the main points of Manchin's compromise bill:
1. Make election day a public holiday
2. Mandate at least 15 consecutive days of early voting for federal elections
(include 2 weekends)
3. Ban partisan gerrymandering and use computer models.
4. Require voter ID with allowable alternatives (utility bill, etc.) to prove
identity to vote
5. Automatic registration through DMV, with option to opt out.
6. Require states to promote access to voter registration and voting for persons
with disabilities and older individuals.
7. Prohibit providing false information about elections to hinder or discourage
voting and increases penalties for voter intimidation.
8. Require states to send absentee by mail ballots to eligible voters before an
election if voter is not able to vote in person during early voting or election
day due to eligible circumstance and allow civil penalty for failure.
9. Require the Election Assistance Commission to develop model training
programs and award grants for training.
10.Require states to notify an individual, not later than 7 seven days before
election, if his/her polling place has changed.
- Absentee ballots shall be carried expeditiously and free of postage.
- Require the Attorney General to develop a state-based response system
and hotline that provides information on voting.
11. Allow for maintenance of voter rolls by utilizing information derived from
state and federal documents.
12. Establish standards for election vendors based on cybersecurity concerns.
13. Allow provisional ballots to count for all eligible races regardless of
precinct.
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Politics